Visible Cracks
by serendipitous-15
Summary: Crack v. – to break so that fissures appear on the surface. Tag to 6x22 Legends Part 1


**A/N: Not mine, NCIS belongs to CBS and Don Bellisario, I'm just borrowing them for a bit. **

**Spoilers: **_6x22 Legends Part 1_

Any recognizable dialogue comes from _Legends Part 1_

* * *

_Crack (v.) – to break so that fissures appear on the surface_

--

Tony watched the raw feed from ZNN in silence and even though there was no one else in the room he fought to keep the many thoughts and emotions from being so openly displayed on his face. Why didn't she tell him? She told him about the mission itself (well, the general details anyway) so why leave the getting blown up part out? While saying that you could have died in a club explosion while undercover in Morocco wasn't something you told strangers it was something you told friends, wasn't it? Sure, they hadn't been partners when that had happened but Tony thought that they were still friends and friends have a right to know when their friends get blown up at a club in Morocco. Pausing the video he took in the nasty looking gash on Ziva's head before rewinding it so that he could get a second look at something that caught his eye. Freezing the video again he stared at the image of the man who must be her backup in the field.

_Got him._

--

Going to Abby had been logical but also risky, he could trust her but she also didn't like keeping secrets. At least now he had a name to go with the familiar face. He was pretty sure that Abby thought that he was secretly checking out a guy who could be Ziva's boyfriend and Tony made no move to correct her. It would be better for her to think that until it became too obvious that it wasn't the real reason he was asking about Michael Rivkin. Heck, _he_ wished that a curiosity about a man Ziva may be romantically involved with was his motivation but his gut told him that there was more to it than just a potential boyfriend or 'friends with benefits' deal. He hoped his gut was wrong.

The second time he found himself in Abby's lab she had asked if he knew how busy she'd been. He, of course, knew how busy she'd been and told her so earning him a smile. Getting back to his reason for visiting Abby showed him picture she found and immediately the lighthearted mood in Abby's lab disappeared.

"You don't ask her. You don't breathe a word of this. Abby," he ordered her as he deleted the search.

"Tony…" began Abby apprehensively.

"I mean it."

--

Only Agent Baker's team was in the bullpen when Tony reappeared later that night, not that he was expecting the place to be packed at one thirty in the morning but it was nice to know that there would be no one to disturb him. Sleep had been elusive so Tony did what he did many nights when for whatever reason he couldn't sleep, he came back to work to sort it out. He found the jump drive he had tossed into his backpack without too much difficulty and after plugging it into his computer he quickly located the file he had created that evening. Ziva wasn't the only one with contacts and connections overseas, if there was one skill that Tony had been happy to learn from his father it was the power of networking. True, his contacts weren't usually military; the majority of them ran in privileged circles but if there's one thing that Tony took away from the many parties he was forced to attend as a child, the rich and powerful were some of the worst gossips but only amongst themselves. Getting information from such people was difficult though because the unwritten rules of communication and mingling between those who were old money, new money or simply just privileged would prove to be a minefield for anyone not brought up in that environment. Tony, however, enjoyed the challenged and despite being estranged from his own privileged upbringing and family he could still play the game. He frowned as he looked over the simple document he had created it, despite how well placed his contacts were it had still be difficult to gain any insight on Michael Rivkin and what he was able to get wasn't much but what he was able to find worried him. It really wasn't such a big surprise; it would be extremely sloppy of both Michael and Mossad if important details were easy to gather. Leaning back in his chair he let his mind wander back to the conversation he had with Ziva in the elevator.

"_What about your friend from Tel Aviv?"_

"_Tony."_

"_I'm just sayin'."_

"_Yes, I miss Michael too."_

"_When he called the other day I though he must be here."_

"_No. Sadly Michael is not here."_

The elevator doors had opened up soon after that and before Tony could start talking again Ziva had disappeared. Now with only the light from his desk illuminating the MCRT section of the bullpen Tony frowned as he thought about the exchange and Ziva's blatantly suspicious behavior over the past two days. Her recent behavior had been cause for concern but it was the exchange in the elevator that caused him the greatest amount of unease. Ziva had always been an excellent liar; he had witnessed her using that particular skill with such practiced ease over the years, so her sorry excuse for a lie sent up red flags. It had taken Tony close to two years to finally be able to read Ziva well enough to be able to tell if she was lying or hiding something but her response to inquiry about Michael's whereabouts wouldn't even fool McGee.

Whatever Michael's business was in the US Tony didn't think that it would lead to anything good. Glancing over at his partner's desk he found himself wondering whose side Ziva would be on when Michael's mission was finally out in the open, something he hadn't thought about in a very long time. He had, understandably, been wary of her when she was first placed on their team by Director Shepard but over time she proved to not only be trustworthy but also loyal. Now, three years later, he couldn't believe that he was seriously questioning his trust in her or her loyalty to Gibbs and the rest of the team but he was. _'Because you of all people know that no matter how fucked up your relationship with your father is you would still help him if he asked'_ said a little voice in the back of his head reminding him of one of the things that he and Ziva had in common. One of the things that he loved about Ziva was how loyal she was so could he really blame her if when push came to shove she remained loyal to Mossad and her father?

'_Yes'_ said the same little voice.


End file.
